Brands and Branding - Publications - Faculty & Research

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Leading in Tough Times: HBS Faculty Member Amy C. Edmondson on Psychological Safety

offer ideas. To avoid being branded as negative, we don't criticize the status quo. But every time we withhold our thoughts, we rob ourselves and our colleagues of small moments of learning. This stifles... View Details

February 2010
Case

Go Mobile: The Phirbol Franchise

By: Rajiv Lal and Natalie Kindred

To grow Phirbol, a telecom retail franchise chain in Delhi, India's underdeveloped markets, its founders were exploring ways to offer more value to the franchisees. In mid-2009, the Phirbol franchise was comprised of some 150 franchisees that had converted their small... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Innovation and Management; Brands and Branding; Service Operations; Franchise Ownership; Value Creation; Telecommunications Industry; Delhi

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Tata Hall | About

companies and employs more than 400,000 people. During Ratan Tata’s tenure, the business became globally focused, acquiring international brands such as Tetley, Jaguar Land Rover, a string of well-known... View Details

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Careers Blog

Programs & Events Resources & Tips 11 Jun 2025 Alumni Career Video | Nicole Ledoux (MBA 2008) tag Alumni Career Videos Nicole Ledoux (MBA 2008) shares how a personal experience sparked an unexpected pivot from finance to entrepreneurship, launching the healthy snack... View Details

01 Dec 2023
News

A More Accommodating Approach

Shelly Nooner (GMP 33, 2022) had already proven herself to be visionary and execution-focused during her two decades at Trimble, an industrial technology company that provides hardware, software, and services across agriculture, construction, geospatial, and... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Gillespie

09 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

Industry Self-Regulation: What’s Working (and What’s Not)?

about what they're doing will invite more targeting. And I think this concern is well founded, which unfortunately leaves consumers in the dark about many of the innovative programs that companies have deployed to address these concerns.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

February 2000 (Revised December 2000)
Case

Coca-Cola's New Vending Machine (A): Pricing To Capture Value, or Not?

By: Charles King III and Das Narayandas

Chairman and CEO M. Douglas Ivester stumbles when he tells a Brazilian newsmagazine about a new Coke vending machine that can automatically raise prices in hot weather. Reaction around the world is swift and negative. View Details

Keywords: Price; Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Product Development; Global Range; Public Opinion; Value Creation

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Pam Chan

Pam Chan began her career in consumer products, starting with one of the biggest CPG companies in the world, Procter and Gamble. "In school, I knew I wanted to be a marketer involved in brand management... View Details

Keywords: CPG; Tech

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Topics - HBS Working Knowledge

(19) Annual Reports (2) Annuities (1) Arts (2) Asset Management (3) Asset Pricing (4) Assets (11) Attitudes (18) Auctions (4) Balanced Scorecard (11) Banks and Banking (30) Behavioral Finance (7) Behavior (75) Bids View Details

25 May 2011
HBS Case

QuikTrip’s Investment in Retail Employees Pays Off

It's a much believed assumption in the retail world: If you're going to compete on the basis of low cost, then you can't afford to invest in your employees. Extensive training—who has the time to give? Regularly scheduled hours?—way too inflexible. Benefits?—forget it!... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

25 Jun 2024
Research & Ideas

How Transparency Sped Innovation in a $13 Billion Wireless Sector

suppliers have lots of business partners, you eventually see benefits,” says Greenstein. “With more business options, you see a different variety and a bigger variety of products available. Everybody benefits at the end of the day.”... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald; Technology

12 May 2023
News

Alabama's Yella Fella

transformed Great Southern Wood Preserving into a $2 billion company with a recognizable brand in one of the most commodified industries. The story is told in a recent Forbes article, "How a Crime Fighting Cowboy Became Alabama's Only... View Details

Keywords: Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods; Wholesale Trade

01 Jun 2023
News

In Full Flower

“Flowers are a very emotive product category, but it didn’t seem that anyone had built a brand that people loved and trusted,” Gelbard recalls. “So often we just turned to a Google search. View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; entrepreneurship; florist; marketing; supply chain management; Personal Services

August 2020 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Luckin Coffee (A): Caffeine-fueled Growth?

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case describes the founding of Chinese coffee chain Luckin Coffee in 2017 and its path to surpassing Starbucks as the largest coffee chain in China (by number of stores) in 2019. Unlike Starbucks stores, which were designed to be welcoming “third places” for... View Details

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22 Nov 2004
Research & Ideas

Side Effects: The Case of Propecia

name of the drug and the problem it could correct, but would also have to include a list of major side effects. Trying to put side effects into context in a 30-second TV spot was next to impossible. "Reminder" ads could mention... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Health; Pharmaceutical

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Find Past & Upcoming Events - Alumni

Your Unique Personal Brand Whether you're looking for career direction, in career transition, or seeking a promotion, a strong personal brand can build your confidence, your focus, View Details

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Thomaz Galvao

want to close this gap by creating an online marketplace to match employers with employees we will train in technology and soft skills.” In order to get there, Thomaz says, “We want to build our brand so... View Details

30 Nov 2023
Blog Post

College Students, Take a Sneak Peek at the HBS MBA

Dr. Youngme Moon is the Donald K. David Professor of Business at Harvard Business School. Professor Moon's research sits at the intersection of strategy, branding innovation, and culture, with a particular... View Details

01 Mar 2024
News

Case Study: Testing the Waters

Illustration by Christina Spano Endurance training was nothing new to Lauren Picasso (MBA 2014), who’d raced through her younger years as a cross-country runner and swimmer. In 2017, when she was director of marketing at Jet.com and looking for a physical challenge,... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Food and Beverage Stores; Retail Trade

May 2016
Case

The Inexorable Rise of Walmart? 1988—2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In October 2015, Walmart surprised investors by announcing that it expected flat sales growth for 2015 and growth of only 3% to 4% over the coming three years. Profits would also fall due to significant investments in people and technology. The company’s stock price... View Details